Book to help readers better understand Xi's thought

The newly released fifth volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China offers readers a deeper insight into Chinese modernization drive and the country's evolving role in the world, officials and experts said.

Published by the Foreign Languages Press in both Chinese and English in July, the latest volume contains a compilation of 91 pieces of spoken and written works of President Xi Jinping from May 27, 2022, to Dec 20, 2024.

At a promotion event for the English edition of the fifth volume, held in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, German Sinologist and historian Cord Eberspaecher said he was impressed by the extensive and inspiring content presented in fluent translation.

"The book brings together a series of speeches, organized by topic, focusing on China's sustained success and its role in the world," Eberspaecher said. "It will help readers better understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and China's governance philosophy."

Eberspaecher said that he found it particularly remarkable that "the Chinese president keeps emphasizing that China does not stand alone in the world: China needs the world, and the world needs China".

A longtime observer of the series, Eberspaecher witnessed the launch of the first volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Oct 8, 2014. Since then, five volumes have been published, covering nearly every aspect of China's political, economic and social development since 2012.

Christina Werum-Wang, the German director of the Confucius Institute Frankfurt, described the book as "the key to unlocking the true China".

Werum-Wang said that the series represents China's reflections and practices on its path to modernization. "The wisdom on development, peace and governance contained in these works offers new perspectives for addressing common challenges facing humanity," she added.

To date, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has been published in 42 languages and distributed in more than 180 countries and regions. The series has entered over 1,700 major overseas libraries and more than 500 mainstream bookstores and online platforms, according to the China International Communications Group.

Since its debut, the series has attracted widespread global attention and has been collected and studied by leaders and public figures in many countries.

One example came during the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, when Chilean President Gabriel Boric brought to the venue a Spanish edition of the fourth volume that he had obtained at the Santiago International Book Fair and asked President Xi to sign its title page.

Chinese Ambassador to Germany Deng Hongbo said at Tuesday's promotion event that the fifth volume "belongs not only to China, but also to the world", as it records the exploration and practice of an ancient civilization moving toward modernization and reflects the thinking and responsibility of a major country that takes its role in the world seriously.

"I hope and believe that through reading this important work, readers will gain a deeper understanding of China's history and present, a clearer grasp of its development path and a more positive view of the opportunities China's progress brings to the world," Deng said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.